Growing into a Fighter
by Natsumi Wakabe
Summary: When she was five, she wanted to be like her mom. When she was twenty, she wanted to be something more. A tribute to Rena Yanase from Ultraman Tiga.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the ultra men, any of their various back up teams, Rena or anyone else.

N/A: Ohayo everyone! This is Moriah, the mystery secretary of Natsumi Wakabe! Bwahahaha! Now I am unleashed upon you poor souls! Anyways, for anyone who has known her long enough, Natsumi has always been a huge fan of Ultraman, like, fan girl to the extreme. So much so that she can tell you every single one's name, and most of their attacks, which universe they come from - the works. So when she finally decided she wanted to pay tribute to them, she decided to do it in this roundabout way. If I can, I'll get her to write more for you. Now, here's her interpretation of how Rena, the love interest of Daigo (human form of Ultraman Tiga) came to become the kick butt girl we all know and love. Happy readings, and don't forget to comment. Thanks!

When she was four, Rena Yanase always thought that she would follow in the footsteps of her mother: becoming a wife, a mother and volunteering at various things when she was not making sure that her house was in order and her family was safe. She saw few other things that she could do, and in truth, she thought that such a life would be a wonderful thing.

When she was five, Rena came to realize that there was more to life than just the life of her mother. She realized that she had a lot more out in the world to do than just cook, clean, and care for others. She saw, at her first day of kindergarten, that there was more to life than just that. She could be a firefighter, a policewoman, or a scientist. She could be a professional chef, an actress, or maybe even a singer! Or she could even be an accountant, yuck! She disliked the thought of having to deal with those dreaded numbers all the time, all that icky math and stupidly complex formulas.

By the time Rena was ten, she had begun to notice things that she could do outside the limited and normal field of jobs that were presented to her. A brief encounter at a field trip with a weapon maker had left a visible mark on her thoughts. She became interested in those things, especially with their newest edge of technology. She was especially fascinated by the process of making the guns.

At fifteen, she was finally beginning to narrow down her range of possible jobs that she would like to take. As was the rule in her household, she kept her grades up as high as she could, usually in the B+, A range, and took a large variety of different classes in order to find what it was that she wanted. She was coming to find that she did not want anything to do with the more normal jobs, and instead wanted something exciting. She wanted to do something where she knew she could make a difference, especially if anything doing with the newest technology was involved.

When she was nineteen, Rena was finally able to get all her different options down to three specific jobs that she wanted. Her first choice was that she could either become one of the scientists that helped to come up with the machines she had come to love. Another of her options was to join a SWAT unit, preferably one that was allowed access to certain machines made from the scientists that she originally thought of joining. Or she could join the newly formed special unit called GUTS, Global Unlimited Task Squad.

On one hand, if she went with the scientists and mechanics, she would be able to provide the weapons needed, as well as have a much safer job that still allowed her to feel that she was helping society, but at the same time, it was safe. Too safe for her. She yearned for adventure, action, and a little bit of danger. So that was out of the question.

If she went with the SWAT, that would give her a better time, but it seemed too, well, normal. Everyone had a kind of basis on what to expect if you decided to go into it. Not that it was predictable or anything, just that it felt a little too restricting to her. The missions given to her would not be something that would be completely out of the ordinary, but it would give her a rather nice adventure most of the time.

But GUTS, that sounded interesting. It was still very new, and they were always looking for new recruits. From what she had gathered on it, the current captain was a woman by the name of Iruma, Megumi. She was a former scientist, as well as a widowed mother of one. That in and of itself would have been enough for Rena to at least go-one because if Megumi-san was a former scientist, it would mean that she would most likely have access to a lab, and two because if Rena knew one thing about units like this, it was that they were usually overrun with men. So she might as well even it out a little.

By the time Rena finally got past all the tests, psychiatric quizzes and mandatory meetings and classes, she was well into her 21st year of existence. But, when she finally got in, it was all worth it.

She was surrounded by many talented, smart and interesting people. She had friends, family, and everything she could hope for.

Or almost everything.

"Everyone, we have a new member. I'd like you to meet Madoka, Daigo."

A/N: Natsumi just wants everyone to know she feels like a total fan girl writing this, but she loved every second of it. Please R&R!


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